Critical theory as it's been canonized within the Western Academy, is a tradition that comes out of a group of thinkers affiliated with what's called the Frankfurt School. It purported to offer a kind of radical critique of capitalism, consumer society and issues of contemporary society and how they are controlled. However, once again proving Gramsci true, instead, the Frankfurt School has been blunted by its funding sources, used by the CIA and in the end, while prevasive in Western academia, offers no real study on “how the world works” and of course, it critiques Actually Existing Socialism (AES) more than it critiques capitalist or even fascist regimes. On top of it, it has a very reactionary bend to it. Today, Gabrielle Rockhill, philosopher and critique of critical Theory joins us to talk to us about what’s wrong with Western Academia.
Gabrielle’s Writings
* The CIA & The Frankfurt's School of Anti-Communism
* CIA reads French Theory: Intellectual Disarming of the Left
* Foucault, the Anti-Communism, the Global Theory Industry
Show Notes
1:38 - What is critical theory?
3:55 - Critical and revolutionary for the reinvention of the critique in the age of idealogical realignment
4:15 - Theory in the Marxist Sense vs Theory in the Liberal Sense
7:45 - Divorcing Critical Theory from Political Action
9:49 - Tiktok
11:42 - Political Science for Imperialism
13:51 - The Parcelization of Academia in the West
15:00 - Common sense assumptions without Proofs
22:13 - Frankfurt School at Inception
27:44 - The Foundations, Corporations and the Institute for Social Research
34:55 - Infiltration of Unions
41:47: Anything But Socialism
43:00 - Esha uses the opening to rail on Timothy Snyder and Anne Applebaum
54:23 - The War Propaganda and Academia
1:02:00 - Marxism in the West
Gabrielle Rockhill can be found on twitter.
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